Introduction
Social media platforms offer an avenue for people to interact with one another through text messages, voice notes, and video calls. Technological advancements have a ripple effect on social media usage. As the number of cell phone owners increases, online activities flourish. In 2021, about 4.3 billion people used the platforms to interact (Abid et al., 2022). The use of social media platforms makes the spread of information faster compared to traditional means. The number is expected to grow exponentially to reach over six billion users by 2027 (Kwak et al., 2018). The political realm is leveraging social media platforms, and its operations have subsequently evolved.
The campaign strategies applied in the 2012 elections in the United States of America may not work in 2025. Failure to work is due to technological advancement, which shifts the political framework as more voters sign up for social media platforms. Although social media platforms are significant in improving communication and interaction among politicians and their followers, they may be a prerequisite for chaos courtesy of misperceptions. Politicians must, therefore, leverage technology from an informed and professional point of view to avoid challenges that may arise from it. This essay analyzes the impacts of social media in the political domain.
Streamlines Political Campaigns
Political campaigns are the core pillars of democracy, and politicians strive to reach a large audience. Social media has made it possible to reach people in different parts of the country at once. In the Barrack Obama campaigns in 2008, social media was the primary tool to reach out to the youthful American population (Aldaihani & Shin, 2022). Most political players use their social media following to reach out to as many followers as possible, translating into votes leading to political victory. In the hotly contested American elections in 2020, Joe Bidden used a digital strategy to reach out to male voters compared to his main competitor (Akbar et al., 2021). He formulated a digital team that worked closely with the youths to develop appealing messages and had the right time to attract them to the political formation. Unlike the olden days, when politicians had to move from one place to another searching for votes, social media has made it possible to reach out to voters via the Internet. Social media has, therefore, transformed the political landscape in democratic nations, making it an essential tool for campaigns.
Promotion of Transparency and Accountability
Social media helps promote transparency and accountability in the political realm. During the campaigns, candidates issue promises to citizens, which must be fulfilled once they are sworn into office. Unlike in previous years, when people had no access to politicians and government officials, social media has made it possible by creating a communication link between them. Citizens can easily reach out to their leaders through a conversation where they can interrogate their campaign promises and encourage them to deliver (Salikov, 2020). Constant citizen-politician engagement makes the leaders more accountable for their promises. Transparency is critical in building trust and helping people relate well with their leaders. Since social media can make people ask direct questions to their leaders and be answered, it improves accountability. It is further paramount to note that the government may use social media to explain policies and procedures to the citizens and receive feedback on poor policies.
Consequently, the politics of deceit and false promises are eliminated since all leaders can be taken to account for all the promises they made during campaigns (Park, 2019). It is paramount to note that people can monitor politicians via social media, determine their authenticity, and decipher if they can be trusted. Monitoring is an essential tool in the political sphere that helps the government remain on the correct trajectory. When the government is answerable to the people through social media platforms, people tend to criticize it, which is a prerequisite for better performance in the discourse. Constructive criticism is, therefore, key to government performance in its delivery of services to the citizens.
Keeping the Government in Check
Social media offers an opportunity for the general public to view information relating to the government, evaluate it, and offer their feedback. When the government of the day obtains feedback from people, it adjusts its policies to serve the needs of the people (Oparaugo, 2021). When the government is not delivering for the people, they can use social media to campaign against them. For example, when shooting incidences in the USA, people air their grievances on social media condemning the action. Through social media platforms, the citizens proposed strict gun control policies such as background checks to have the people licensed to own guns be in the proper mental condition (Park, 2019). Through social media, the government can collect views from the general public to align the needs of the people to the governance plans. The ability to interrogate, offer feedback, and participate in decision-making shifts the political dynamics and encourages politicians to change their leadership styles to be more appealing to citizens.
Although it is the role of the official opposition to put the government in check, the citizens, through social media platforms, also have a chance to question it whenever it fails. Since social media preserves all the posts on the promises that the leaders make during campaigns, the citizens can use their campaign posts as a basis to ask for services in case the government fails to deliver on its promises. The American government has, for example, leveraged the technology of having official social media sites for the presidents, which offer real-time responses to questions asked by the citizens. Further, social media platforms can be used as public participation forums to get people involved in the day-to-day running of the government. Political leaders who use the tool effectively are likely to excel in their political careers.
Problems of Social Media in Politics
Problem 1-Misinformation: Causes and Solution
Misinformation is a common phenomenon in social media where people share false information. During political campaigns, people are prone to share unauthenticated information to generate traffic on media sites. The problem of misinformation is caused by the quest to be the first to share news or information. In digital platforms, users strive to have more followers, which can be achieved by posting news that is yet to be published (Aldaihani & Shin, 2022). Consequently, the challenges of false information reaching people are inevitable in the discourse. The most amicable solution to the problem of misinformation is the formation of laws where people are accountable for the information they post online. People spread erroneous information because they are not held accountable. Strict rules on authenticating information before spreading it may help reduce problems on the platforms.
Evaluation of the Existing Solutions to the Problem
The current law on social media accounts requires that only accredited media sites post news. However, the method is ineffective because it contradicts the rights enshrined in the First Amendment, which gives people the freedom of speech and expression. Further, the current law does not promote accountability for the world and messages spread through social media platforms. Close monitoring of the accounts can be achieved through artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Problem 2-Widespread Negative Propaganda: Causes and Solution
Propaganda was essential in the Second World War to convince more people to join the army. When information is falsified for the communicator to achieve a specific objective, it is called propaganda. Although it was a tool of war, it goes against ethical and logical principles (Duncombe, 2019). As political opponents strive to get more votes, they are prone to create false information against their competitors, which may lead to defamation in the discourse. Social media contribute to most of the political violence and conflicts in the world today. The problem is caused by the stiff competition among the candidates and the lack of rules to guide candidates in the campaign. Since each candidate strives to get more votes to win the presidency, they use all possible means to increase their fame while disfranchising their opponents (Duncombe, 2019). The proposed solution to the problem is to hold candidates accountable for all insults against their opponents, and severe consequences such as disqualification from the race are imposed if the political camp’s social media platforms insult or spread defamatory remarks about their opponents.
Evaluation of the Existing Solutions to the Problem
The current laws governing the spread of negative propaganda on social media platforms are ineffective because it does not hold people accountable for their utterances on social media platforms. Since the previous techniques have not been effective in eradicating the problem, they can be changed to help peace prevail during and after the campaign and effectively communicate between citizens and the government. The First Amendment, which gave people the freedom of speech, makes it impractical to arrest people for sharing their opinions on social media regardless of the post’s impact on peace and stability.
Problem 3- Misperceptions; Causes and Solution
Misperception is the act of understanding a message contrary to its intended use. Misperceptions result from a lack of editorial responsibility for the data produced. It may be caused by a lack of laws guiding the posting of information on social media. The proposed law is, therefore, to have a specific law that prohibits politicians from using words, phrases, or terms that are likely to cause conflicts between the populations. The introduction of social media gives politicians an avenue to write and disseminate a message directly to the people. They release information into the public domain without determining its authenticity (Daly et al., 2019). Whenever people get wrong information about a subject of importance in society, it may lead to upraising and revolts, impacting peace and stability (Lakkysetty et al., 2019). The challenge can be avoided when politicians have professional journalists to help them understand the ethics in society and ensure that the information shared is accurate and ethical before it can be released to the environment to encourage peace and stability among the people.
Evaluation of the Existing Solutions to the Problem
The laws that have existed to protect people from misperceptions prohibit people from uttering words that may hinder equality. However, the current solutions to the challenge are ineffective since people tend to deny the context, leading to hatred among the citizens (Aldaihani & Shin, 2022). People may hurl insults at others, but when apprehended, they tend to defend themselves as having been misquoted.
Problem 4-Hijack Democracy and Subvert the Will of the People; Causes and Solution
The use of social media platforms tends to hijack democracy and subvert the will of the majority. The use of social media may be used to disrupt the process of vote counting when the candidate who seems to be losing the election inspires their followers to revolt and reject the election result. In the 2016 American elections, for example, some authoritarian powers like China and Russia were accused of manipulating the election results in favor of a given candidate (Aldaihani & Shin, 2022). The leading cause of the manipulation problem is having a compromised electoral body bias against a candidate of political formation. Social media platforms have been accused of rigging elections in many parts of the world. The proposed solution to the problem is to have a comprehensive digital platform audit by trusted audit firms to ensure the election outcome favors no candidate.
Evaluation of the Existing Solutions to the Problem
The current methods used to address the problem are ineffective because the laws only apply in a country due to the sovereignty accorded to states and nations worldwide. For example, the American audit can audit only its electoral body and not the suspected cyber criminals in other authoritarian powers. Therefore, the government must introduce a comprehensive follow-up method to ensure that every vote counts and that no third-party systems have the right to manipulate election results (Duncombe, 2019). When the tool manipulates the voting and vote count pattern to achieve a predetermined result, it jeopardizes democracy. It encourages people to opt for deceit and lies to clinch the top seat in the nation. Necessary government regulations must, therefore, be set aside to ensure that the use of social media platforms in the political realm assists in satisfying the people’s needs and facilitating democracy. All aspects of social media that threaten democracy in nations must be eradicated.
Conclusion
Social media has dramatically revolutionized the political domain as it provides an interactive platform where politicians and citizens share ideas and brainstorm on the most significant needs of the people. Since the digital media platform offers a place for interaction, the campaign framework transforms, enabling leaders to be called into account. The critical role of social media platforms is to share information with numerous people to convince or persuade. The tool’s alleged ability to rig elections and subvert to the will of people poses a serious threat to democracy. The government must, therefore, enact relevant laws to ensure that the challenges associated with social media are eradicated for a more robust democracy. Using digital platforms is beneficial as it motivates people to evaluate their government and gives them the right to criticize it. When social media usage is regulated in the political field, it is an essential tool for campaigns and holding the government into account after the election.
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